Unknown
by lilMissWombat
Summary: Charlie is attacked at Calsci, but when Don and his friends find out he does not tell them the full story of what happened. Will he able to open up about what actually happened to him and will Don be able to find his brother's attacker, before he strikes again? And can Charlie really trust the people around him to keep him safe? Non-con. Protective Don.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Definitely non-con – so be ware if you have a tender heart

**Trigger warning:** physical and sexual abuse

Charlie was wiping away the chalk marks from the blackboard and cleaned away the used take out boxes from his desk. He was in office and it was pitch-black outside. Once more, he had completely lost track of time and had ended up working late into the night. He sighed and suddenly had to swallow a yawn forcing its way out through his mouth. He rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. He had to stop doing this. He was getting too old for pulling all-nighters.

He so longed for a soft warm bed right now and dreaded the fact that he would not be able to stay there for long. He had an early morning class the next day. Charlie looked at his watch. Or rather later that day. A big fat 2.36 were staring back at him. Charlie briefly thought about simply staying at the office and make himself comfortable on the couch, but he could not shake the need for a good bed, so with a sigh, he gathered all his belonging and headed out into the hallway.

As always, the school was deadly silent at this time of night. Charlie knew that somewhere on campus there was a guard running around, checking on things. But Campus was pretty big and mostly focused on the labs anyway, so Charlie doubted that the guard would actually be any help, if ever something were to happen. Luckily, nothing ever did happen at school and Charlie was therefor not worried at all, as he walked down the dark empty hallways. A few places, the automatic link blink on as he walked by, but not every light was automatic so he mostly walked around in darkness.

Another yawn suddenly threatened to overwhelm him and he was about to let it out, when he heard something. He shut his lips together and stopped to listen. Immediately, he could feel his heart racing up while telling himself not to be silly. Yet, he stayed silent and listened.

It was subtle and almost unnoticeable. At first Charlie had no idea what it was. And then he suddenly recognized it. It was a human breath.

Charlie looked around in the dark hallway but could not see anyone. "Hello?", he tried, calling out but was only met with the silence. "Hello, is someone here?", he tried again and could feel his heart leaping faster. Maybe someone had broken in? Maybe it was someone not supposed to be there?

Hesitantly, Charlie moved farther before he quickly began hastening his strides. He suddenly had a big urge to get to his car in the parking lot as fast as possible.

When he heard footsteps around him, he stopped and looked around. Behind him was a hooded person and Charlie figured it must be a student, since he had never seen a professor dress like that. "The school is closed for students at night", Charlie said and licked his dry lips. He was painfully aware of the tremble in his own voice.

The hooded figure did not answer him and instead just seemed to stare at him. Suddenly it rushed forward and Charlie sprinted for dear life. His breath was ragged and uneven, as he ran down the empty corridors. He did not get far, before the person behind him slammed into him and pushed against the side lockers. Charlie hid his head against one of the metal lockers and he could feel his skin rip apart on his forehead, as he scratched himself on the lock.

"Please", Charlie mumbled and raised his hands as in plea.

The hooded figure grabbed him without a word and pushed him into one of the classrooms nearby. A distant part of Charlie's mind recognized it as the room where he taught his trigonometry class last fall and he noticed the man locking the door behind them.

"Please", he tried again. "Please tell me what you want. Is it money? I can get it to you. I just need…". Charlie was abrupted, as he was suddenly pushed into the desk. The air was knocked out of him and he could hear books falling to the ground, as he desperately tried to scramble to hit feet and away from the hooded man.

"Please don't hurt me", Charlie said and fumbled for the phone in his left pocked. If only he could get a call through to someone, then they could hear what was going on. The man stepped forward and gripped the phone, Charlie had tried to sneak out of his pocket, and he threw it against the wall away from them. Charlie could hear the phone shatter and the feeling of being utterly alone suddenly overwhelmed him.

_Don_. He thought in a panic. _Please Don_. I didn't matter of how illogical it was. Charlie desperately needed help and all he could think of was that Don would keep himself – if only he had been here.

The hooded figure stepped forward and he seemed to hesitate. Charlie had his back flat against the blackboard behind it and could feel the rim of it dig into his back. _Where was his bag? _Charlie briefly wondered. He must have dropped it somewhere while running – or maybe when he was knocked against the lockers.

Hesitantly, the hooded man reach out and placed a tentative hand on Charlie's cheek. Charlie shuddered by the touch. What the hell did this man want? The man stepped closer to him and grabbed Charlie's head with both his hands. Charlie started to squirm and tried to get away from the man, as he leaned in gently.

_NO!_ Charlie was not aware if he yelled it or if he had only thought it. He pushed away the hooded man with all his might and the hooded man stumbled backwards. Charlie took his chance and started running, but again the other man was too fast for him and slammed him against the blackboard. The man leaned against him and breathed into his ear.

Charlie was distinctly aware of the hard shape that he felt pressed against the lower part of his back. _God, no_. He was fueled with a fear he had never experienced before and struggled to get free, but the man held him in too tight of a grip. The man started to caress him again; pushing away the curls from the side of his face.

"No, please don't", Charlie whimpered. He just wanted, needed, the man to go. To leave him alone. "Please, don't hurt me". He was ashamed of how small and weak he sounded, but he would gladly go down on his knees and beg if that is what it would take for the man to not hurt him like that.

The hooded figure suddenly turned him around and looked him dead in the eye. With the little sliver of moon light coming in through the window, Charlie could now see that the man was wearing a mask. It was a hockey mask and Charlie stared into the deep green eyes of his assailant. He knew those eyes…

The man must have realized how exposed he suddenly was, because he grabbed Charlie by the hair and flattened his face against the desk. "No", Charlie whimpered, as he felt the man reach out his waist and unbuckle the belt around his pants. He tried to struggle, but the man kept him in too tight a grab.

Charlie tried to reach up and tear the man's hand away from his curls, so that Charlie could get loose. But all it earned him was that the man now took hold of Charlie's arms instead of his hair. The man held both of his wrists in one grip and pinned him to the desk. Charlie barely noticed that he had started to cry.

"Please, don't do…", Charlie began and suddenly screamed, when the man used his free hand to down Charlie's pants and grabbed hold of his dick. The man quickly raised Charlie from the desk with the grip on both of Charlie's hand, only to smack him down against the table. Charlie grunted in pain, as he barely managed not to break his nose against the hard desk. The meaning was clear; keep quiet.

Charlie was sobbing, as the man tore down his pants and leaned himself up against Charlie's behind. Charlie could clearly feel the hard erection on the man behind him rubbing against his ass and Charlie had no illusions of what was about to happen. A cold sweat ran out over his entire body and Charlie could feel his body starting to tremble.

The man unbuckled his own pants and Charlie could feel as the stone-hard erection of the man was let out and started to rub against his ass – the two were only separated by Charlie's thin boxers. The mathematician immediately clenched up and tried to distance himself from the man, but the other one pinned him down and tightened the grip on his wrists. Charlie had lost all feeling in his hands at this point.

The man quickly reached around and pulled down Charlie's boxers, clearly too eager to wait any longer, and he grabbed full hold of Charlie's naked dick. Charlie had never been more exposed and tried to twist and turn, as the man started to stroke him. Meanwhile, the man rubbed his own hard erection against Charlie and he almost threw up, when he could feel something wet on his thighs. Charlie knew it was pre-cum and he clenched his eyes down hard.

The man rolled his thumb over Charlie's slit and Charlie hissed from the stimulation, but to his satisfaction he remained limp and soft. At least he would not be giving his attacker that satisfaction, Charlie thought to himself.

He squirmed once more beneath the man's grip, when he ran his hand over Charlie's balls and around to his ass. It seemed like the hooded man as well had realized that he would not be able to get Charlie hard and instead began concentrating on his ass. Charlie whined in pain as the man abruptly placed his thumb inside him and started to move it around.

Charlie had never had anything up that way before and he was extremely tight and could not help but clench together even more under the unwelcome pressure. The pain was extreme, and Charlie could not help by cry out by the thought of what was to come. He whined once more, as the man forced in a second finger and forcefully tried to stretch him open.

Suddenly, he saw a glimmer of light in the darkness. A literal light flashed by in the hallway outside and Charlie knew it could not be anyone but the guard.

"HELP!", he screamed with all his fight and he could feel the man stop his search behind him. "Please, help me! I..". Everything suddenly went dark, when the man raised Charlie's head and quickly smashed it against the desk. Charlie felt himself go limp and fall to the floor, as he was now completely unsupported by the body that had until then been pressed against his.

In the distance of his mind he could hear both a rattling from the door, indicating the guard trying to breach, and he noticed the cold wind of the night flushing over his half-naked body, when a window was being opened. Next thing he knew the door was broken down and Charlie cried out in pain. The guard rushed towards him and through the fog that invaded his mind from the hit to his head, Charlie could hear the man calling 911.

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Don tore awake, when a loud sound suddenly woke him from his dream. He grumbled and rolled around in his bed away from the warm body he had just been snuggled against. Robin sighed and rolled away from him and tore the cover up over her ears to drown out the noise. Don quickly grabbed the phone and flipped it open.

"Eppes", he mumbled hoarsely and coughed to get his voice going. He was not even on call. Why the hell would someone call him now?

"Don Eppes?", the strange female on the other end of the phone was clearly wide alert and had been so for hours. "My name is Jill Liansson. I'm calling from the LA hospital downtown".

Immediately, Don was wide awake and sat straight up in his bed. He barely noticed the cold evening air on his bare chest. "What…", he started but was interrupted.

"I'm calling on behalf of a Charles Eppes. He was hospitalized a little while ago. You're listed as his emergency contact".

Don swallowed. "Is he…". He didn't even know what he wanted to say; all right? Dead? _Please, don't let him be dead or badly hurt. Please. _

"He was attacked earlier this night and has suffered some minor injuries. He will be alright, but he needs support around him right now. Will you be able to.."

"Yes", Don said and jumped out of bed. He immediately started to pull on his pants. "Ill be there right away. LA hospital downtown?"

"Yes, ask for your brother's room at the reception when you get here".

Don ended the call and quickly grabbed the shirt he had worn the day before and tossed to the floor, when he and Robin had been too busy to fold it.

"Everything okay?", Robin asked half-awake and half-asleep from her place on the bed.

"Charlie", Don whispered and had to clear his throat. "He's been attacked".

Robin immediately sat up, instinctively covering her naked breast with the cover. "Oh my god. Is he okay?"

"Minor injures", he mumbled as he pulled on his shoes. "I need to go".

"I'm coming with you", Robin immediately said and rolled out of bed. She pulled a shirt over her head and grabbed a pair of panties and pants from the closet. "Do they know who it is?"

"No", Don mumbled as he grabbed his jacket and checked that his keys where there.

"Is he working a case? Could it be something like that?"

Don swallowed hard again and then shook his head. Charlie was not working for them right now but he knew that the FBI was not the only agency that his brother worked for. What if one of the perps from the other investigations had found out who Charlie was and had attacked him for it? That had always been one of his greatest fears and over the years that fear had become a little too close to becoming realized. So far Charlie had gotten through some hairy situations purely due to luck. Maybe his luck had finally run out?

Don rushed down to the car with Robin behind him and started it even before Robin had a chance to close the door and put on her seat belt. He put on the sirens and rushed through the minimal night traffic of LA. He could feel Robin looking at him, but she gratefully stayed silent. Don was far too occupied with his own thoughts to talk to her right now.

Minor injures, Don reminded himself. The woman had said it was minor injuries. Still, he needed to see Charlie for himself. He needed to see his little brother. He could only imagine how rattled Charlie must be right now after having been jumped. Don felt a cold sweat when he suddenly thought of how much worse it could have gotten. He could have gotten a call asking him to go down and identify a body. _No_, he scolded himself. He could not allow himself to go down that road. Charlie was fine - or at least he would be.

He would be just fine, he nodded to himself, despite the harsh grip he had on the steering wheel.

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"…. And make sure to get a rundown of every criminal on every case he has been on. Once I've talked with Charlie we can start narrowing it down. Let me know when you have some findings from the crime scene". Don slammed the phone shut, as he rushed to the main doors of the hospital. He had called David on the way to the hospital and had him waking up the entire team. He wanted this investigation started as quickly as possible, so that they could find whoever had attacked his little brother.

He had then called his father and after a frantic phone call, he had convinced him to wait until Colby came over and picked him up. He did not want his father driving around in such a frantic state and Don would feel safer having one of his agents picking him up.

Robin was running behind him, trying to keep up, as he rushed to the information desk and demanded the room for his little brother. An overly friendly nurse guided them to the room and Don sighed relieved, when he saw his brother sitting up and alert.

"Hey buddy", Don called out softly from the door and walked towards him. For a moment he hesitated when he saw the scared look in his brother's eyes.

"Hi", Charlie whispered looking at Don and Robin behind him.

"How are you feeling?", Don asked and sat down on the bed. He frowned slightly when he saw Charlie stiffen up.

"Fine", Charlie mumbled and only briefly looked up at Don before avoiding his eyes.

Don was stunned. The attack must have rattled Charlie more than he thought. He looked over at Robin and she said she would go get some coffee for the two of them.

"Charlie, you want any?"

Charlie simply shook his head without looking at her.

When she had gone, Don took a moment to look at his brother. His brother had a wound that had been stitched up on his forehead and some other cut and bruises here and there, but it all seemed like minor wounds. Just like the doctor had said on the phone.

"What happened buddy?". Don tried to ask very calmly. He did not like how Charlie was stiffening up and avoiding his look.

Charlie did not answer and immediately Don felt his stress level rising. He felt a cold knot starting to twist in his gut. What the hell had happened to his little brother? "Charlie, please talk to me. What happened?"

His brother visibly swallowed. "I was in my office. It was late. I was working late", he shook his head and seemed almost angry for a little while, as if blaming himself. Don tightened his jaw. He knew Charlie tended to do that.

"I was on my way to the car, when this… man came up behind me. I tried to run, but he caught me". Charlie was beginning to struggle and breathed deeply. "He pulled me into a classroom and… started to beat me".

Don frowned and wanted to reach out to hold some piece of his brother's trembling body, but for some reason he knew that his touch would not be welcome.

"And when the guard came, I screamed. The guy knocked me out and fled out the window". Charlie was still not looking at him and had not done so at any point while telling his story.

Don swallowed hard and could feel a cold spread throughout his body. The tensing of his muscles, the way Charlie avoided his look and brief tale of the story…. Don really did not like the way that Charlie was acting.

"Did he say what he wanted?". Don could not help but frown as he tried to make sense of the story.

Charlie simply shook his head while looking down at his hands.

Don bit his lower lip and he could feel himself hesitating before asking. "Charlie", he asked tentatively and tried to push as mush care as he could into his voice. "Is that all that happened?"

Charlie snorted and Don was briefly taken back by the sound. "What? You don't think that is enough?", he asked bitterly and Don opened his mouth to clarify.

"Charlie!", they suddenly heard a familiar voice by the door and their father rushed in. He rushed to Charlie's side and Don stood up to give them some space. Their father pulled his youngest into a hug and Charlie returned it rather hesitantly.

"Are you okay?", Alan asked frantically and pulled out of the embrace to look at his son "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay…", Charlie started, and Don took a step over to the door, where Colby was standing. Colby was biting his bottom lip and looked up at Don when he came.

"He said anything?", the younger asked with a frown and Don shook his head.

"Nothing so far". Don looked back at his brother trying to calm their father down. "Colby go to the office and help David out. I'll stay here and try to get something out of Charlie".

Colby nodded and left the family alone.

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It had taken some time, but Don had finally convinced his father to let the two brothers talk alone. Don needed to hear more about what happened so that they could start identifying the guy and Charlie had seemed self-conscious about speaking about the attack in front of his father. Robin, who had meanwhile returned with the coffee, gently let Alan away and kept him occupied while the two younger Eppes talked.

"Charlie, did you see what the man looked like? Did you recognize him?"

His little brother shook his head. "He was wearing a mask. A hockey mask".

"Did he say anything? Anything at all? Maybe you recognized his voice?"

Charlie shook his head. "He never spoke".

Don frowned and could feel the frustration growing. He wanted to find this asshole before he disappeared through the cracks – or worse attacked again.

"I did recognize his eyes", Charlie mumbled and played with the cover of the hospital bed he was in. "I don't know who it was but his eyes… looked familiar".

Don felt relieved that they at least had something to narrow down the list of suspects. "Could you see what color they were?"

"Green. Like brown-green".

Don nodded. "That's very good Charlie. And how was he build? Was he tall, lean, on the larger size?"

Charlie hesitated. "He was bigger than me", he whispered.

The knot in Don's stomach turned by the weak tones in his brother's voice. He suddenly had a vision of a much bigger and bulkier man pounding away at his brother's face and pushing him into the furniture in the classroom. He forced himself to breathe calmly and his voice was even, when he asked Charlie to describe the man for him.

Charlie painted the picture of a regular sized Caucasian male, well-trained but not too big with green eyes. Don took down notes to make sure he had everything. The man had no other defining marks and Don was frustrated that Charlie's description did not leave them with that much to go on. He just hoped that the crime scene would reveal something more.

"Okay Charlie. Anything else?"

Charlie did not answer and just stared down at his hands playing with the cover.

Don looked intently at his brother. He knew there was something Charlie was not telling him – something about the attack. He put down his notebook. "Charlie", he said and he could see Charlie wincing, knowing what he was going to ask. "Is there anything else – anything at all – that you want to tell me?"

Charlie looked up at Don for the first time since stepping foot in the room. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Definitely non-con – so be ware if you have a tender heart

**Trigger warning:** physical and sexual abuse

Charlie looked his older brother square in the face and tried to push the words out of his mouth. But what did he even want to say? 'Don, I was raped'. Not true, because he was not. 'Don, your little brother was too weak to fight back and had a guy pin him to the desk and grope him. Your little brother was too weak to do anything but whine and cry, when the guy grabbed and stroked his dick or rubbed his own all over his ass. He was too powerless to do anything but cry in pain, as the man forced his fingers inside him and started to stretch him out'. How on earth could he tell his brother something like that?

Charlie looked back down on the cover in shame. Don would never have let someone do that to himself. He would have fought them off, he would have stopped them. Or he would at least have called out for help, instead of just staying silent after a little beating.

Charlie shook his head. "Nothing".

"Charlie", Don said and leaned close. Charlie could feel how he immediately felt claustrophobic. _Don't come any closer. Please_. His breathe got caught in his throat and he had trouble breathing. _Don wouldn't hurt me_. He reminded himself. _Don could never hurt me_.

"Charlie", Don said again and reached to grab his hand but thankfully let it fall before he could. "You know you can tell me anything. Right? Anything at all".

Charlie could not meet his gaze, when he nodded. He could never tell him this though. Never.

"Charlie", Don said and sighed. "Would you please look at me?"

Charlie licked his lips and swallowed. _Come on_, he told himself. _You can't let him know that there's something wrong. Something seriously wrong with you_. He looked up at his brother and he saw the worry plain on the other man's face. Charlie wondered how Don would start looking at him, if he knew what had really happened.

"I want to help you buddy, but I need you to help me too. I need you to tell me what really happened. It's the only way for me to find this guy and make him pay for what he did".

_What he did…_. Charlie was suddenly back in the classroom, pinned to the desk with his hands behind his back and the man's fingers were tearing into him. The two fingers were mercilessly moving around in the rim of his asshole and back in the hospital bed, Charlie clenched together by the thought. He was still in pain from that experience and unknown to Don he was wearing a woman's pad right now to prevent the bleeding from his wounded asshole to go onto his boxers. _The boxers the man had pulled down._ One of the nurses had been kind enough to give the pad to him.

"I've already told you what he did", Charlie sighed and closed his eyes. He leaned back in the bed. The doctors had told him to stay the night. They wanted to keep an eye on him and make sure he had not suffered a mild concussion. He was not particular sleepy, but he hoped to fool Don into thinking he was. He was looking forward to going home tomorrow morning.

Don hesitated for a long time, before he finally got onto his feet. "Okay buddy. I'll have a guard stationed outside. You'll always have someone with you until we find this guy, all right? I need to get back to the office. I'll get dad for you before I leave and I'll call in in the morning. Okay, Charlie?"

Charlie nodded and opened his eyes long enough to wave Don goodbye. He then quickly closed again and pretended to be asleep, when he heard his father enter the room and sit down in a chair next to him. The light in the room was dimmed and after a while, he heard his father's slight snoring, indicating he had fallen asleep.

Charlie did not sleep that night. Instead his mind kept playing scenes from the night before and he kept wincing in part pain and part shame, when he remembered specific moments of the attack.

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He did not really know why he had not simply told his finally the whole story. He guessed he just did not want them to look at him as if he was a victim. As if he was weak. _To have them see you as weak as you are_, a voice whispered inside him and he moved around in the car seat. He had been discharged and his father was taking him hope.

Before leaving the hospital one of the female nurses had sat him down alone, without his father, and had told him about the different help centers and phone numbers he could call to for further help. Charlie had avoided her gaze, as she had listed the many sources for help and had explained to him that there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Charlie had simply nodded and quickly pushed the folders she gave him into the inner pocket of his jacket. He had as quickly as he could without being rude excused himself from that conversation and fled the scene.

Logically, he knew he had nothing to be embarrassed about. Charlie had worked on too many of Don's cases to know that victims of sexual abuse tended to feel shame and as if the attack had been their fault. Charlie had never quite understood that instinct before now. Now, he could feel the shame burning through his veins, as if it had become part of his blood.

It did not matter that he new logically that it was not his fault. His brain kept making up excuses for why it was. _He should not have stayed so late. He should have run faster. He should have fought harder. He should have screamed for help. He should have…_ He should have done so many things and if he had, maybe things would be different now.

His father had tried to keep up a conversation the first few minutes of the ride but had quickly noticed Charlie's reluctance to talk. He had now settled for sending his youngest son worried looks.

Charlie could definitely not talk to his strong FBI brother about this, but maybe he could say something to his dad? His dad would certainly not judge him – right? Charlie sighed and shook his head. He loved his father and he had no doubt that his father loved him (and Don) dearly. The man would do anything for his sons. But Charlie was also painfully aware that his father was of a different generation. He was an old Jewish man, who had grown up through the second world war. It had been a different time back then.

Besides, his father was religious. He may not speak openly about it, but he knew that his father went to the synagogue and that he was rather traditional. Although Charlie did not think that his father would shun hum from having sex with another man, he did think that he would not be rather pleased about it and that he would probably look at his son very differently afterwards. Even if that sex had been highly forceful and not at all consensual.

And that was probably what Charlie feared the most. The looks that people would send him, how differently they would view him, if they knew what had happened to him. _How weak he had been…_.

Charlie just wanted things to go back to normal. He wanted to forget and just put it behind him. He didn't want to think any more about it.

He looked at the rear view mirror and saw the federal car following behind him. He sighed. _Guess it would be a while before he could do that. _Don had not been kidding, when he said an agent would be following them everywhere. He knew that Don had already had someone search the house, before they got there – just to make sure. Charlie felt the knot that had been in his stomach since the attack starting to tighten. He was painfully reminded every time he saw his newly acquired bodyguards that the man that had attacked him was still out there. Just waiting to try again. Or waiting to be caught and spill the beans on what he had done to Charlie...

Charlie honestly did not know at this point what would be worst. Suffer through another terrifying, painful and humiliating experience? Or to have everyone he knew know about that terrifying, painful and humiliating experience?

When his father pulled in at the Craftman's, Charlie jumped out and walked as fast as he could up to door and continued up the staircase. He did not want to be trapped by Alan Eppes and his concerned looks and attention.

He was still in pain and he therefor moved rather gingerly, as he pushed himself down the hallway and into his room. He had taken over the master bedroom after he bought the house and had begun seeing Amita. His father had had a glimmer in his eyes, when he noted that a couple needed more room than a single old bachelor. Charlie had tried to protest Alan's voluntary change of bedrooms, but he was now eternally gratefully. The master bedroom came with an ensuite.

He quickly stripped out of his clothes and threw all on the floor. He did not put it in the laundry basket, because he knew he would have to throw it out later. He would never be able to look at that clothes again without being reminded of what had happened. _Hand around his dick, stone-hard erection against his ass, precum slipping down on the floor…_

He rushed out into the shower and turned on the hot water. The water was practically scolding, when he stepped into it and Charlie sighed a relief, when he felt the nerves all over his body scream out in pain from the hot water. He grabbed the soap and sponge and started scrubbing away. He was at first very gentle with the areas that hurt the most – the areas where the man had touched him. But in the end those became the areas he focused the most on. He was scraping away at his skin, making it raw and swollen, while the hot water pounded down over his head.

He looked at his hands, scraping away at his own skin, and he noticed the blue marks that had started to appear around his wrists. Turns out the man had held him so hard that he had caused bruising on his wrist. He had not told Don that the man had held his arms. He would have to remember to tell him that to explain the bruises around his wrists, the next time his brother came asking. Charlie was sure that he would. _You know you can tell me anything. Anything at all…_

Tentatively, Charlie reached one hand around to touch his own ass. He hesitated before slowly moving his hand further down and gently touched the sore rim around his asshole. Charlie winced when he felt the sting of the rifts around exit. Charlie stopped what he was doing and simply starred into the wall of the shower. He took a deep breath and then forced one finger inside himself. He gasped both from pain and … what? Stimulation, he guessed. Carefully, he started probing around, while he steadied himself against the wall.

He played around with himself for a while, feeling around inside himself. He tentatively tried moving his own finger in and out and he winced in pain, when it opened one of the rifts in his asshole. After a while he pulled the finger out and washed it carefully. He did not look at his own hand, but he saw the water at his feet turned pinkish and knew there had been blood on it.

What had he been doing? Charlie did not really know. Maybe he had been trying to reclaim himself? Or at least part of him. _A hard dick rubbing against his ass, playing with his hole. A hand reaching around to stroke his member, while another hand held him steady and pushed him down into the hard surface of the desk. Fingers in his hand, probing away. First one, then two. The pain as the man forcefully stretched him out and began readying him for… _Charlie leaned against the cold wet shower wall.

_Breathe_. He told himself. _Just breathe._ He opened his eyes and for a moment his thoughts were pulled into reality, when he thought he saw a green pair of eyes staring back at him from behind a hockey mask. Charlie cried out and stumbled backwards. He slipped on the wet floor and stumbled backwards, falling to the ground harsh. He swore out loud and got himself up onto his feet. He looked around and scolded himself, when he saw that there was of course noone in the bathroom with him.

Someone suddenly knocked at the door, which made Charlie make another yelp. "Charlie?", his father voice called out worryingly.. "You okay in there?"

"I'm fine", Charlie called out and turned off the water. "I'll be out in a minute".

He grabbed a towel and dried himself off, ignoring the small spot of blood that appeared on the towel, when he dried his ass. He guessed he would have to throw that towel out too.

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"Nothing yet?", Don was frustrated and could not help but let it show in his voice. They had been working non-top for hours to trim down the name of suspects and had not gotten much closer in finding Charlie's attacker.

"Sorry, Don. Caucasian male with green eyes is not all that much to go on", Nikki said from her spot in the war room. She was sitting at a table with a huge stack of folders laid out in front of her. The folders were all the cases that Charlie had helped them with. Don had not even realized that it had accumulated to so many over the years.

"And we cannot afford to fully exclude the suspects with brown or blue eyes either. They may simply have hired someone to hurt Charlie. Although it does seem like the attack had a personal component to it", Liz said from her seat on the table next to Nikki. The two women had been the ones in charge of narrowing down the list - so far without much progress.

"It can't have been a hired attack", Don said and shook his head. "Charlie said he felt like he knew the man". He started to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look you gotta keep trying alright? I'll try to speak with Charlie again to get more of a description, but he's being really close-mouthed about this".

"Well, its not that surprising", Liz said. "All things considered. The attack probably has him rattled. He just needs some time and maybe to talk to someone. Have you tried talking to him about the FBI psychologists? They're good with this kind of stuff".

Don snorted. "Yeah, I doubt he would be up for that right now". Don thought however about how his little brother had avoided his gaze and tensed up in his presence. Maybe it would be easier for Charlie to talk to someone, who did not already know him? "I'll talk to him about it", he added when Liz send him a strong look.

"Well, hopefully David and Colby can find something on the crime scene, because this" Nikki gestured towards the enormous pile in front of them, "this is impossible".

Don gritted her teeth and was about to give her e reprimand, when he noticed David coming towards him. Don quickly walked towards his agent and met up with him outside the war room. "All right David. Tell me what you got", Don reached out for the folder in David's hand – the one showing all the findings they had from the crime scene.

David seemed hesitant to give it to him and he had something in his eyes… a look that Don did not care for in the least. The knot that he had gotten in his stomach when first talking to Charlie immediately seized up and he tore the file from the other man's hand. He scanned down the paper, until his eyes finally found what he was looking for. The word _semen _stared coldly back at him and Don felt heat flashes going out through his body. "Oh god", he whispered and reached out for the nearest chair to sit down.

"They found a few traces on the floor. Colby is running it right now to find a match", David said and stood awkwardly to the side. The pain was clear to see in his eyes and face. He cared for Charlie too.

Don could feel himself going dizzy and he had to close his eyes. _No. Charlie no… _The worry and suspicion he had had from the start but had been too afraid to voice had turned out to be right. He could feel his lunch turning in his stomach and he had to breathe deeply. He had met enough rape victims to recognize the signs. _His little brother… his fucking little brother_.

"Can it be old?" Don asked, trying to hold on to hope even though he knew there was no use. "Is there any way it's unrelated?"

David shook his head regretfully. "The campus guard that found Charlie says he found hi half-naked. Someone had pulled down his pants".

Don leaned forward and hid his face in his hands. The rage rushed around inside him and he could himself going warm all over. It feel like someone had literally started a flame in his heart and that it was now rushing through his body, bringing his blood to a boiling temperature.

"From looks of it, it looks like precum", David added hesitantly. "So maybe…".

Don quickly rose to his feet and smashed the file into he other agents chest. He was aware that other people around them started to stare and he could see the suppressed fear in the other man's eyes, when Don leaned in and whispered; "We'll find this guy. And when we do, **I'll **be the one to question him". He did not wait for an answer. Instead he went to his desk, grabbed his coat and stormed towards the elevator. He had to see Charlie.


	3. Chapter 3

"Amita, I'm fine"

"Are you sure, Charlie? Because I…"

"I said I'm fine!", he roughly pushed her away. She had reached out to touch his face and study the marks he had gotten there. He took a few steps away from her and told himself to breathe. _Just breathe. You just have to keep breathing_.

He looked over at her again and swore at himself, when he saw the wounded impression on her face. "Amita, Im sorry", he tried again. "I just… look I just need some time. Okay? I just some time alone… for a while".

Amita nodded and grabbed the coat that she had flung over the chair, when she had entered the house. "Okay. I understood. Just.. please Charlie if you need anything… Please, just call me".

He nodded and let her kiss him goodbye at the side of his cheek, before she retreated out the door. A few minutes later he could hear the car start up outside and he knew for sure that she was leaving.

He let out the breath he had been holding and felt himself immediately getting calmer. He had managed to convince his father not to cancel his dinner date. He had been seeing this woman from the soup kitchen lately and Charlie had insisted there was no reason for Alan to cancel his date. Charlie was fine to be alone. He was fine.

_I'm fine._ Charlie reminded himself before sitting down at the kitchen island and burying his head in his hands. The agent watching the house was currently outside in the living room and there was another one sitting outside in the car. Don had really not been kidding when he said he wanted an agent on him 24/7. In a way Charlie liked it. He was still worried about his attacker might coming after him again. If he had been completely alone…. Well, Charlie was not sure he would have been able to cope with it.

But at the same time he longed for the solitude. He longed for peace and quiet. Not least from his own mind. His head had been playing mind games with him all day, showing him pictures of the attack, making him see things in the shadows of the house. He constantly looked over his shoulder, thinking he heard something.

Those eyes... those dark green eyes. Where had he seen those before? Charlie had been wondering about it all day, while simultaneously trying not to think of the actual event. It had proven to be a highly difficult task.

Amita had shown up only a few minutes earlier. She had barely gotten in the door before Charlie had started rejecting her. He knew she just wanted to help, but he just… couldn't. He couldn't let people help him, because when they wanted to help they wanted to touch him. They wanted to hug him, pet him on his back, grab his hand… _His hands behind his back, his check against the desk while the erection rubbed against… _

Charlie abruptly stood up. No, he had to stop. He couldn't keep going like this. Once more he tried to breathe - _Just focus on your breathing_ – as he made it to the fridge, where he grabbed a cold beer. He opened the bottle and took a big slug of it. The alcohol fumed in his mouth and he took a few more hefty swallows, until half of the bottle was almost empty. He looked at the beer bottle and back at the fridge. Maybe he should just get drunk? Maybe that would be a way for him to forget everything… at least for one night. Drunken oblivion sounded like a really welcome idea right now. He quickly emptied the beer bottle he was holding.

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Don was on his way to the Craftman's. His mind was racing almost as quickly as the car was and he kept going back to his breathe. _Just breathe. Just keep breathing. Breathe, damn it! _He knew that breathing deeply and evenly was one of the best ways to alleviate his stress and the trick had worked for him so many times in a lot of hairy situations; hostage situations, dangerous entries, you name it. He had even used it the few times that Charlie had been in direct danger – like the time a suburban dad had opened fire in his office. But now? Now when he needed it the fucking most, it completely failed him.

_Semen. _They had found semen on the floor. _Oh, Charlie. _Don could feel the sting behind his eyes and he quickly shook his head. No, he reprimanded himself. He could not do that. He had to stay strong for Charlie. He needed him now more than ever.

Don had briefly wondered, whether Charlie had opened up to their dad and told him. Don sincerely hoped he had or that Charlie had at least opened up to someone about it. But Don really doubted it. The Eppes men were not really famous for talking about their feelings and when they were having a difficult time. Charlie was no better at it than any of them. And right now he was having a seriously hard time.

"_From looks of it, it looks like precum"_. David's voice rattled inside Don's head and for a short moment, he felt an excruciatingly and unfair amount of rage towards David. He had been so livid in the moment David had said that that Don was surprised he had not decked him.

Precum, Don thought with a snort. Like that wasn't bad enough? So maybe Charlie hadn't been fully raped – and Don was seriously holding on hopes for that – but just the thought of someone holding his little brother down and... They had found spatters of blood on the desk, which meant that someone had most likely held him down and bend him over the desk. Whoever had done this had held him there, steady, while they rubbed themselves against him and… and God only knows what else. Don's fingers dug deeper into the steering wheel. When he found the guy who did this… he was going to have his head.

He abruptly parked in front of the house and briefly noted his father was not home. Good, he thought. It would be easier for him to have this conversation with Charlie if they were able to have it in private.

"Charlie?", he called out, when he opened the door. He nodded to the agent that had risen to his feet, when he had heard the door go.

The agent nodded in response and released his hold on his gun. "He's in the kitchen".

Don nodded and stopped the agent, as he was about to sit down to continue watching the game. "Could you give us a moment, please?" He preferred no one even being in the house, while he had this conversation with Charlie. He did not know yet exactly how it would unfold or how bad it might get.

The other agent was a little surprised but nodded his head in agreement and turned off the TV before grapping his jacket and went outside to sit with his partner in the car.

"Charlie? It's me buddy". Don did not wait for a reply before he entered the kitchen. He was a little taken back by what he saw.

Charlie was sitting at the kitchen counter with what looked to be just short of a seven empty beer bottles with another half-empty one in his hand. He was not even looking at Don as he entered the kitchen but just kept starring at the bottle in his hand.

"Charlie". Don walked slowly towards his little brother. "Charlie, are you all right?"

Charlie looked up at him with such a dark look in his eyes that it had Don snapping for air. "Never better".

_Oh, Charlie_. "We need to talk, buddy", Don said and sat down opposite his little brother. He was watching Charlie's and hesitated for a moment. Maybe Charlie was not in the right state of min right now to have this conversation? _Just do it, Don. Just rip off the bandage_. "We found semen on the floor of the classroom where you were attacked".

Charlie looked away. He did not speak for a while and Don did not say anything either, wanting to give Charlie a chance to have it sink in. Charlie swallowed heavily. "So you know?"

"I know that something else happened that night, Charlie. Something you don't want to talk about, but buddy…. I think you need to. If not with me then someone else. But you gotta talk about this. About…", Don was about to reach out to grab Charlie's hand but stopped himself in the last minute. "And it can be me. If you want to and are ready for it… you can talk to me". He lowered his head to try and reach Charlie's eyes.

Charlie shook his head slowly and then snorted. "What exactly do you want me to say Don?". Charlie's voice was low, as his gaze slowly turned back on Don.

Don could see how glassy his eyes were from all the beer and Don swallowed heavily. It was not like Charlie to drink so much.

"Do you want me to paint a picture for you? To tell you how a man held your kid brother down over a desk, pulled his pants down and….". Charlie was working himself into a rage but had to swallow the last words.

He could not say it, Don realized. What exactly had the man done to his little brother? Don still did not know for sure. Had he… groped him? Rubbed against him? …raped him? Abused him. No matter what exactly had happened that night Charlie had been sexually abused and that… Don knew that kind of stuff left mental scaring and the amount of empty beers surrounding them was a clear sign of it starting.

"Charlie". Don winced, when he was not able to hold the pain out of his own voice. "Charlie", he tried again more soberly, "what exactly did he do to you?"

Charlie winced and looked away, which made Don bite his tongue.

"I'm sorry, Charlie. It's… If you don't want to talk about it... if you're not ready… Just know that you can. Okay? You can tell me anything. You can come to me with everything". Don could feel it starting to sting again behind his eyes and he quickly blinked the upcoming tears away. He knew that Charlie was headed down a rough road, getting his mind straight again after this attack. And he wanted to make sure that Charlie knew he was not alone. Don would be there for him. For whatever it was that he needed.

A silence started to creep in between the two brothers and the more either of them refused to break it, the heavier it grew. Don could feel it growing around him and weighing down on his lunges to the point where it became difficult to breathe, but he was determined not to say anything. He wanted to give Charlie time. Time to think, to consider what he wanted to do. He wanted to give Charlie as much time he needed to start this conversation – if he wanted to.

So many minutes had gone by that Don was starting to get stiff in his back and he was about to stretch, when a sound finally broke the silence.

The sound was Charlie's voice. "I was working late into the night". Charlie's voice was flat as he began the story, but at least he was speaking. Don was afraid to move a muscle, as if that would somehow break the spell that had compelled his little brother to finally speak to him. Instead he concentrated on listening and taking it all in without interrupting.

Darkness, a hooded figure, the flight down the empty hallway. Charlie being pushed against the lockers. The fear he had felt when the man had pulled him into the classroom and pushed him into the desk. The confusion – "At first I didn't understand what he wanted" – and the terror. The failed attempt at calling 911. The aggression when Charlie tried to push him away.

Charlie never looked at him – not even once. Don was sort of glad for it.. He was not sure his face portrayed the calm and togetherness that he wished to portray right now. The more he heard, the harder it was for Don to listen, but he bit down on his tongue and grabbed the seat beneath him. He was sure his fingers must be digging markings into the wood from how hard he was grabbing it. His jaw was clenched so tightly shut that you could probably grind stone on it.

Charlie stopped, when he reached to the part where his face was flattened against the desk. He absentmindedly grabbed his wrist and started massaging it. Charlie was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, but he moved around the fabric, as he massaged his arms. Don saw the hint of bruising on his little brother's wrist, where the perp must have held him, and Don bit down on his tongue. He was biting so hard that he tasted blood.

"You know, I tried to get away", Charlie suddenly said and looked up at his brother.

Don saw the look of shame in his brother's eyes and it pained him more than anything his brother had said up until that point. "I know, Charlie. This isn't your fault. He was bigger and stronger than you. There wasn't much you could do".

Charlie looked away and Don could see his little brother's eyes starting to glass over.

Charlie coughed. "He pulled down my pants", he continued with clear tension in his voice, probably trying to hold it from breaking. "He… tried to…", Charlie face was turning red and he had to breathe deeply a few times. "He… he tried to get me hard". His voice was barely a whisper, when he spoke. "As if he wanted me to enjoy myself".

Don visible winced and Charlie got an almost desperate look in his eyes; "I didn't. I swear, I…". His little brother buried his head in his hands and soon after Don could hear the soft sobbing coming from underneath that mop of curls.

Don rushed around the kitchen counter to be by his brother's side. "Charlie. Listen to me Charlie, okay? I'm going to reach out and touch you? I'm going to hold you. Let me know if you want me to let go".

Don knew that with victims of sexual abuse you had to step carefully and fully respect their boundaries. A lot of them was skittish with physical contact of any sort afterwards, especially from people who may remind them of their assailant. With Don being a man and larger than Charlie, he figured that he would be placed in that category. He had a bitter taste in his mouth by that thought.

He carefully reached out and slowly placed his arms around his little brother. To his surprise and great relief, Charlie leaned into the embrace rather than away. He even grabbed Don himself and pulled him closer, as if he was lost at sea and desperately needed something to hold him above water. Don was happy with being his little brother's his life vest.

Many minutes went by with Don simply holding his brother through the worst of it and Don could feel his shirt getting soaked through. After a long time, Charlie slowly started to breathe more evenly and he seemed to be getting a hold of himself. He slowly leaned away from Don's embrace.

Don still needed the physical touch though and kept a soft hand on his brother's upper back.

"m' sorry", Charlie mumbled, as he cleaned his running nose in his sleeve.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Charlie".

Charlie shook his head. "How can you even look at me?".

His words were no louder than a whisper but Don heard him loud and clear. The words made a cold chill run down his back. "Charlie", he said steadily. "You're my brother". He didn't know what else to say and he kind of figured that those words said everything anyway. To his relief, Charlie seemed to agree – or at least he wasn't objecting.

When Charlie did not pick up the story again himself, Don felt forced to do it. "You want to continue?"

Charlie bit down on his lips. "He pulled down his own pants. I could… feel him". Deep breath. "He wanted to… he was going to… rape me".

Don wondered whether that was the first time Charlie had named the things that had happened to him. Don could feel himself clenching up by the sound of the word as well. He was not sure he wanted to hear this. He was not sure that he could hear this. What he already knew was enough to fuel many nightmares to come. But he forced himself to remain seated. He was here for Charlie. _For Charlie_, Don promised himself.

"He started to… prep me". Charlie buried his head in his hands.

Don winced and had to hold back a choke. _Charlie_. _Oh god. _Don could not hear more but he needed to. He needed to know what happened. _And then what, Charlie? Then what?!_ Don wanted to scream.

"He didn't have time to… The guard came. And I screamed. I… He hit me. Knocked me against the desk and ran off. Out the window, I think. I woke up in the hospital".

Don forced back the sigh of relief that threatened to fall from his lips. His little brother had not been raped. He had been violently attacked by a man much larger than him. A man that had pinned him down, groped him, beaten him when he screamed and had laid his hands on him in a way that no one should ever do another human being. But at least that last… that final boundary had not been fully crossed and Don could not help but feel relieved by that. He felt embarrassed from his own relief, as if that initial feeling somehow removed some of the horrors Charlie had gone through. Or take away some of the pain he was currently in – both physically and mentally.

"Thank you", Don said and pulled his brother into his arms again. "Thank you for telling me, buddy".


End file.
